Walter Bingham, a Jewish man who holds two Guiness world records for being the oldest journalist in the world, celebrated his 100th birthday today.
Walter was born in Germany and reached Britain on the Kindertransport. He enlisted in the British army and fought in Normandy, earning honors from both the King of England and the French Legion. At the end of the war, he returned to Germany as a British soldier and joined the investigation of Foreign Minister Ribbentrop.
“I couldn't believe that I, the boy who had fled Germany, was standing in front of one of the leaders of the Nazi regime and questioning him,” he remembered.
Walter also played a wizard in two of the Harry Potter movies, and is a radio broadcaster from his house in Jerusalem, has a regular column in the Jerusalem Report magazine, and writes regularly for Arutz Sheva - Israel National News. The editor of the magazine stated that “It is an honor to be Walter's editor. He never feels to surprise with fresh, interesting, exact, intelligent, and humorous writing.”
Revital Yakin Krakovsky, the assistant director of the world March of the Living organization, said that “Walter is a presence, a walking piece of history. He loves the nation of Israel and his homeland. He was persecuted by the Nazis as a boy, became a decorated soldier fighting the German army, moved to Israel at the age of 80, and has remained active since then from his home in Jerusalem. We are privileged to work with him in Holocaust remembrance and education, and expect to march together on Holocaust day in Poland both this year and many years in the future.”
Bingham himself explained to Maariv: “I always felt a deep connection to the Jewish people and its homeland. I appreciate the times I spent fighting tyranny and promoting truth through journalism. I could not imagine that at the age of 100 I would witness a pogrom like the October 7th massacre and the frightening antisemitism behind it. While I celebrate today, I pray for Israel and the Jewish people.”